To Teach Heeling, "Walk in the Dog's Shoes"

by Jim & Phyllis Dobbs and Alice Woodyard

Before you start teaching the dog to heel, he should understand how
to turn off the electronic collar by coming toward you. This was covered
in our last two spaniel columns. In those columns, we taught the dog
to come when called and to stay with you until released.

Staying with you until released is the foundation for heeling. The
only thing new to the dog will be that you are walking while asking
him to stay with you.

The "invisible circle"

When teaching a dog to heel off leash, begin by teaching him that,
once he hears the command "Heel," an invisible circle forms around
you. It moves with you as you walk.

To do this, imagine an eight-foot diameter circle, with you in the
center. Once the dog is given the command to heel, he must stay inside
this circle until released. The circle must be respected no matter
what direction you turn, no matter how fast or how slow you go, and
no matter how enticing the distractions may be.

The invisible circle technique will make a lot of sense to the dog,
because it allows him to make an easy comparison. When he moves away
from you and strays outside the circle, the collar turns on. When
he stays inside the circle and travels with you, everything is wonderful
and you are telling him how great he is.

Compare the leash and choke chain

Release the button as he re-enters the imaginary
circle.

Let's look at things from the dog's point of view as we compare teaching
the dog to heel using a leash and choke chain.

With the leash and choke chain method, the dog is given a series
of quick jerks when he gets out of the heel position. Being jerked
around by the neck gives the dog the feeling that you are upset with
him, He is uncomfortable being next to you, and, from his perspective,
being close to you is no fun. You become someone he'd just like to
get away from.

Eventually, the dog will accept staying in the heel position when
on leash. This takes time to accomplish. Furthermore, although the
method works in the end, the dog feels that he has been forced to
stay with you against his will.

The circle method using the electronic collar takes a fraction of
the time. And there's no transition when the leash comes off, because
neither dog nor handler is dependent upon it. Since the collar turns
off whenever the dog gets near you, you'll still be his best
friend, allowing you to develop the rapport that is so important between
a spaniel and "his person."

Build on a foundation

The circle method for teaching a dog to heel takes advantage of three
lessons which you've already taught your dog.

Turn toward you to shut off the collar.

Come all the way to you.

Stay with you until released.

The only thing that's new to the dog is that now he must stay with
you while you are moving.

First lessons on "Heel"

When you introduce heeling, the lessons should take place in the
yard, not in the field. To start, call the dog and, when he gets to
you, command "Heel." Start walking in a straight line. Any time he
leaves the imaginary eight-foot circle, immediately turn and walk
in the opposite direction. As you turn, press the button and repeat
"Heel." Release the button as he re-enters the imaginary circle.

If the dog should get more than 10 feet away
from you, stop walking and command "Here." Release
the button as soon as he turns toward you.

Turning away from the dog widens the distance between the two of you,
and makes it easy for him to identify the nature of his mistake. Also,
because of his earlier training on bending (our first column), he'll
turn to follow you when he sees you moving away. The similarity to
a behavior he's already learned makes this new command "Heel" easy
for him to master.

If the dog should get more than 10 feet away from you, stop walking.
Stand still and command "Here" instead of "Heel." Release the button
as soon as he turns toward you.

Refine the dog's understanding

Once the dog has mastered staying within the 8-foot circle as you
walk, you can refine his under-standing of the "heel position." Now
you can teach him to stay on one side of you when he heels. Just wiggle
the antenna of your transmitter in front of his face whenever he "heels"
on the wrong side, and he'll choose to correct himself. He will decide
on his own to heel on the side you want.

Keep the dog in balance

Young dogs are impressionable, and you don't want to work your dog
on heel so much that he thinks he shouldn't get out and hunt. So when
you're teaching heeling, alternate your training sessions. After a
session on heeling in the yard, spend the next training session hunting
in the field.